


A Beginning

by Warflower



Series: Cain´s modern murder mysteries [1]
Category: Cain Saga and Godchild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, Mentions of Child abuse/Stalking/Murder, Riff POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 20:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10395792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warflower/pseuds/Warflower
Summary: After five years of living with Riff in the suburbs, the arrival of a young girl leads Cain to consider his family.The (hopefully-not) shitty modern-AU that I think needed to exist.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic, so thanks for reading and constructive criticism is more than welcome

It all changed with the arrival of the girl.

Riff had not slept that night. Cain had been out until five am again, and Riff had stayed up, again. The boy had stumbled in early in the morning, still slightly drunk, dark hair disheveled and the perfume of some girl still clinging to him. 

When he noticed Riff waiting in the living room he looked vaguely guilty, but instead off apologizing he turned up his nose as if preparing some sharp comment, but Riff had just gotten up, taken Cain into his arms like he always had when Cain was younger and whispered into his hair 

-I was worried, please call next time- and just like when he was younger Cain had gone limp instantly, his face buried in Riffs shoulder, his hands clinging to Riffs broad back,

-Sorry- he mumbled then, sleepy, already drifting off, Riff had picked him up then, carried him upstairs and tucked him in like a small child.

As it had been too late to go to sleep, he had prepared breakfast for Cain, scrambled eggs, toast and sausages, eaten a bite himself and prepared to leave for work early. 

The Hargreaves townhouse was built in the Victorian period, it stood in Knightsbridge, near Hyde Park. Riff didn´t own a car, about which Cain liked to complain, so reached it by tube, as his flat was out in Ealing, where the rent was cheaper. Also nobody of the rich and mighty were around to recognize Cain. Cain Hargreaves was supposed to be in the USA with his father and Riff really did not want to explain just how the teenager had ended up living with him. At least this particular sorrow grew smaller with every year that passed. 

 

When he got there the townhouse was empty, just like it was supposed to be and he set himself to dusting of the furniture and cleaning floor and windows, shaking out pillows and comforters, after five years there were no plants to water anymore, overall there wasn´t much to be done, really, thanks to the lack of inhabitants. 

He was just stowing away the cleaning equipment in the closet, wondering what kind of book he should bring home for Cain- nothing cheered that boy up like a good book on poisons. Unfortunately, as vast as Alexis Hargreaves´ library was, it wasn´t endless, and Cain had read every book about poisons years ago, he would have to make do with some other topic, or maybe he could order something new from a nearby bookstore on the way home. 

He was pulled out of his musings when the doorbell rang, that usually never happened, so Riff quickly left the closet and hurried downstairs to open the door. 

 

He found himself face to face with a young girl. 

She was maybe ten, blond and pale of skin, with long hair and big blue eyes. Her clothes looked cheap and worn, not quite enough to keep her warm.

-Hello- she said, -is this the house of Alexis Hargreaves? - 

-Yes- Riff answered, -although I fear, he is currently not at home-

She did not seem disappointed, - when does he return? - she asked, eagerly – I need to speak to him-

Riff hated having to disappoint her -I´m afraid he won´t return. Mr. Hargreaves moved to America a few years ago, I´m sorry. –

Her face fell, - but it is important- she mumbled, dejected. 

Riff pushed his hair back with his fingers, - is there anything else I can do for you? – he asked.

-No, not really- she sounded close to crying, -I just thought- she sniffled -I have nowhere to go- tears started flowing, - and, you see, he is my father- that caught Riff by surprise, he kneeled down until he was on eye level with her.

-You know what, - he said softly -why don´t you come in? I´ll make you a cup of tea and we talk? – she nodded, still crying, he held the door open for her and led her to the kitchen. 

Riff gestured at the servants table for her to sit and started boiling some water. 

-We have peppermint or black tea, what do you like? – he asked. 

-Black- Her little voice barely more than a whisper. -Do you have sugar? – she inquired after a moment of silence,

\- Sure – Riff assured her, -Would you mind, if I make a call, I´ll be back with you in a second. – She nodded. 

He left for the dining room and pulled out his phone, it was only half past nine, Cain wouldn´t be pleased, he called nonetheless.

Cain picked up after the fourth ring, -What? – he sounded still half asleep and in a bad mood to boot, - I hope for you this is important Riff. I was sleeping –

Riff smiled despite himself, it was good to know that even with things being as they were sometimes Cain was just like any other teenager. 

-It is – he explains, Cain groans, Riff imagines him rolling out of bed, all rumpled and still in yesterday’s clothes – there´s a girl here- 

-None of mine- Cain interrupted him -I told no one who I am- 

Riff shook his head – I didn´t say that it was, and I do doubt that any of your… girls are that young-

Cain makes a noise, offended, annoyed or curious, over the phone Riff couldn´t tell – She says she is Alexis Hargreaves daughter- he explained, this time Cain´s double take is unmistakable – I thought you should meet her- shuffling on the other side, Cain was probably rummaging for clothes. 

– I´m on my way, do you need anything- It sounded like he was hopping on one leg trying to pull on some jeans, 

\- Some breakfast would be nice, - Riff mused – She doesn´t look like she had any- Cain hummed his assent, with a -see you- he hung up, leaving Riff to return to his guest.

By now the water was boiling, so he quickly prepared a cup of tea for his guest, 

\- Here- he said, and carefully added – May I ask you, what is your name? I´m Riffael, but you can call me Riff- 

-Merry- she smiled, still shy, and wrapped her hands around the steaming cup – who did you call? – 

-Cain, - he answered – I guess… he is your brother- That seemed to surprise her, judging by the little -oh- sound she made and the rise of her eyebrow -he´s coming here- 

She smiled again, but tilted her had as if something had just occurred to her – If he is my brother, then why doesn´t he live here? – 

She´s a smart girl, Riff thought and answered – He lives with me - hoping she would not ask any more questions. 

Merry sipped her tea in silence waiting for the arrival of Cain, Riff sat down in a chair opposite her quietly hoping that Cain hurried up, maybe together they would figure out what to do. 

Apparently, the girl wanted to live with her father, what happened to her mother he hadn´t inquired about, he would, as soon as Cain was there, but the main problem was, the girl was asking questions, if they turned her away maybe she would inform the authorities that something was wrong, and it was impossible for them to give her what she wanted, Alexis was long dead, Riff had disposed of the body himself. He really hoped Cain would arrive soon.

 

Cain didn´t arrive until quarter past ten. He knocked at the servants entrance instead of the front door, undoubtedly to avoid being seen. 

The second Cain pushed past him towards the kitchen Riff left out a relieved breath, together they would manage, as they always had. 

Cain stopped and stood in the doorframe, eyes on the little girl, Riff wondered if he was looking for any family resemblance- as far as Riff could tell there wasn´t any.

-Cain, this is Merry- he introduced, 

-Hi – she looked up at him – I´m Merry-Weather Duke, you are my brother? – 

Cain was still speechless but slowly catching himself, he nodded and moved, slowly towards her, taking a seat next to the one Riff had just occupied. For a moment he seemed almost shy -Yes, I guess I am -.

He took her hand and shook it, then he placed the bag he was carrying onto the table. Riff who had prepared some more tea joined the new-found siblings at the table and distributed the sandwiches Cain had prepared. It would have probably been easier, if Cain had just bought something, but since his father´s attempt to poison him he only ate what he prepared himself, or Riff, mostly Riff.

When everyone was settled Merry piped up, - So, what do you want me to tell you? – 

Riff glanced over to Cain -Everything, where you are from, who your mother is, why you want to live with your father… - he trailed of. 

After a moment of silence Merry began to talk:

-I´m Merry Duke, like I said- 

-Are you related to an Alegra Duke? – Cain interrupted. 

-Yes, that was my mother, did you know her? –

-Yes…- Cain seemed mildly uncomfortable -she was my tutor, when I was little, when I was too …sick… to attend school- Too weakened, Riff understood, from his father´s beatings or the poisons in his food.

-She was a teacher, at first, but she had to quit her job, an ex-boyfriend hadn´t taken the breakup well and started stalking and threatening her. She took whatever odd jobs she could find, among others as a private tutor for Alexis Hargreaves. While she was working for him, they had an affair and she got pregnant, your father was married at the time-  
Riff knew Cain´s stepmother had died when he was seven  
-so he gave her some money to live off and she raised me alone. We moved around a lot, to escape her stalker, but in the end he did find her. My mother… - her little voice broke, she sounded miserable -she is dead, you see- Riff felt Cain tense next to him -and I don´t want to go to a foster home, not when I have a family I could live with, please… - her big blue eyes shone with tears.

Cain looked over to Riff, pity evident in his eyes, Riff´s thoughts were racing, contemplating taking in another child, because he knew that was it what Cain wanted. There would be so many problems, and yet, he would not be able to refuse Cain anything, that he knew already. 

-Listen- he cleared his throat -Alexis, your father, he isn´t around, he´s in America, doing business, so if, and that is not yet certain, if you will be living with us there is lots of bureaucracy to go through first, so you would have to go back to your foster family, while we sort everything out, okay? – 

She was grinning now, her smile wide and toothy, Cain looked at him, rather surprised, he had probably been mentally listing arguments already, thinking Riff needed to be convinced. He smiled.

-We will accompany you back to your foster home, okay, and then we are going to contact the social services to ask about taking you in. We can´t make any promises- Merry nodded and tucked into her sandwich, Cain, too, was chewing, throwing Riff the occasional thankful glance. 

 

After breakfast was finished Riff collected their things and they dropped Merry off three tube-stations over. Her foster parents were quite relieved, as they had already considered contacting the police over the girl´s disappearance. When they left she was still bouncing with excitement and did not seem contrite in the least. 

 

The ride home was quiet, only when the door was locked behind them and their coats hung away Riff addressed Cain -you know, that as things are now, we won´t be able to take her in.- Cain looked up, he wasn´t surprised -Her father is Alexis, and for her to live with her family, at the very least he would have to personally sign the papers. There is no way around this. You are too young to adopt a child Cain, and nobody who had any common sense would entrust a child to my care…- 

-You are great with children- Cain stepped up to him, placing his hands on Riffs shoulders -You were great with me- Riff smiled fondly, even after five years it was hard to believe, just how highly Cain thought of him. 

– My mental health record says otherwise- his smile turned self-depreciating, apologetic he added -and even if we leave that, before I could take in a girl, I would have to provide living quarters, living quarters that are not inhabited by somebody, who isn´t supposed to be living in England at all. There´s no way I could hide you, they would ask questions, you know we can´t risk that. – 

Cain was staring at the floor, frown in place, he seemed angry, and he was thinking.

Riff reached out, cupping the boy´s cheek in his palm, instinctually Cain´s hand wrapped around his wrist. -What are you thinking? - 

-I can´t just leave her- Cain sounded small, almost broken -she is my sister, she could be family, real family- Riff exhaled, no matter how much he cared, how hard he tried to keep Cain safe, Riff was not family, painful as that was. He felt arms wrapping around his waist, a face once again buried in his chest, when he eventually pulled Cain closer, there was a whisper -I know a way-. 

Riff wanted to pull away, look in those green-gold eyes and demand clarification. He didn´t move, only giving a quit hum to show, that he had heard. 

It took a while until Cain untangled himself, but when he did so, his eyes held determination. He walked over into the living room and Riff followed, only a few steps behind. They settled down, Cain seemingly steeling himself -We have to talk to uncle Neil-. 

This did surprise Riff, Neil was a cousin of Cain´s late father and the closest relative the boy had, if you discounted his stepmother´s sister Katina that was, and as such he was the primary target of the farce the boy had put up over the past years, all the stories he filled their correspondence with, detailing his adventures in the United States, all the e-mails he forged in his father´s name, everything, just to fool uncle Neil and the rest of the world with him. And now Cain considered coming clean.

-Are you aware, what that plan would entail? – Riff asked, carefully. He didn´t need an answer, not really, Cain would never propose something, if he wasn´t prepared to see it through and so he leaned back -okay. When are you planning to meet him? It has to be soon, Merry-Weather is waiting after all. – 

\- I´ll call him after lunch- Cain suggested, the late night and early morning taking their toll as he yawned, -I think I´ll take a nap first- and with that he rose and wandered off towards his bedroom.

 

Cain called Neil a few hours later and so, the very next day they were, bundled up in their winter coats, well on the way to meet him for lunch. To be meeting up so soon was a stroke of luck, as Neil spent most of his time in Cornwall and only was in the city by chance. The wind ruffled their hair as they walked up to the house at Sloane Square Neil Hargreaves had bought a flat in, Cain´s face closed off, he was deep in thought, no doubt mentally preparing for the discussion to come. Riff placed a hand on the boy´s shoulder and he smiled his arrogant smile, not quite as tense as he had been before then. -Thank you- he murmured.

 

The door was opened by a maid, soon after Riff has rung the doorbell and they were let inside, uncle Neil apparently awaiting them in the library. 

The library was a beautiful room, full of books and wooden shelves, normally, Riff knew, Cain would love to rummage through it, but as it was uncle Neil was sitting in front of a window, looking out. Riff knocked on the open door and Neil´s head turned, when he recognized his nephew he rose, walking over to them. 

He was a short and stout man, in his late fifties with hair that had gone gray and an impressive mustache. Seeing Cain upon such short notice seemed to delight, yet confuse him. 

-Cain- he said, shaking his nephews hand. -And you are? - He turned to Riff 

-Riffael Raffit, sir. I do not think we have met before- 

-We haven´t, I do think I have heard your name before, though- Neil replied as he gave him a short once over before returning his attention to Cain -God, you have grown, what brings you back to England, if I may ask? – 

By now apprehension had clearly turned to discomfort. Cain´s smile was haughty but forced and he avoided his uncle´s eyes. -We, would like to discuss something, uncle. May we sit down? – It was in equal parts demand and question 

-Sure, sure, take a seat- Neil inclined as he called to the maid for some tea. 

They sat in silence until the tea arrived, Neil throwing suspicious glances towards Riff now and then. Eventually uncle Neil cleared his throat -So- he said, Cain looked up -when did you come back? – 

Cain swallowed and clenched his fists beneath the table, -I was never gone- 

His uncle frowned -…but…- 

-I never went abroad- Cain clarified, undoubtedly confusing the old man further – and neither did my father… - 

-You might want to explain that, because according to mails from both you and Alexis you spent the past five years across the Atlantic- Neil was apparently slightly lost. 

Cain rolled his eyes -I faked the mails, my father died five years ago- 

Now uncle Neil went white -died…how? -. 

-It was self-defense- Riff spoke up for the first time. 

Neil looked at him in shock, Cain too, seemed surprised, Riff was aware the boy considered himself a murderer, even if his actions were justified. Softly he addressed Cain. 

-It was self-defense; your life was in danger- Cain gripped his hand, unfortunately above the table 

-thank you- he whispered, his uncle´s eyebrows rose towards his hairline looking at them, as Riff noted that maybe this was the wrong place for physical displays of affection, especially since Neil apparently did not trust Riff in the slightest. He considered retreating his hand, but right now Cain needed all the support he could get, instead he threaded their fingers together. 

Cain glanced over at him, a silent plea to continue. -His father was violent, abusive, he regularly beat Cain, nobody interfered- he felt Cain´s hand tighten around his 

-Riff found out he put poison in my food, to make me sick, I took the poison and put it into his pipe- He tried for nonchalance but his voice sounded empty as Cain spoke up -Riff disposed of the body-, another small smile thrown his way. 

-Are you saying you killed Alexis? I´m sorry but please give me a minute to digest this- Uncle Neil did seem deeply troubled, of course this was certainly not how he had expected their visit to go. 

They quietly sipped their tea, or rather Riff did, as Cain refused food prepared by strangers and Neil was staring at his cup as if it held the secrets of the universe. Eventually he spoke up -Where do you live? – The sudden change of topic came unexpected -The house is empty, so if you are not with your father in America- I do expect an explanation for that story by the way- where do you live? – 

-I´m staying with Riff- 

Cain answered and Riff added -I have rented a flat out in the residential areas, it is nothing special but it is big enough for two. – 

Neil harrumphed, neither surprised nor satisfied with that answer. -What about school? – he continued, this was one of the points Riff had wanted to avoid,  
defensively Cain answered – Well, obviously, I couldn´t go to school here when I was living in America- he sounded indignant, cutting even -not that I went often in the first place, my health, you know? – 

His uncle flinched, but caught himself. – So you have no proper education? – he accused, by now Cain seemed to be downright sulking. 

Strictly speaking it was true, Cain had dropped out of school at age twelve, sure, he had devoured book after book, some of which were easily university level, but since he only read what he was interested in, he was an expert in chemistry, biology, anatomy and all things that were poisonous and had basic knowledge of physics, math, history and literature but other than that his education held vast gaps. 

Cain did not reply. -I did get him some standardized tests from time to time, his education is sufficient- Riff explained. 

Neil snorted, Riff held a growing suspicion that Cain´s uncle disliked him and the amount of involvement he had in Cain´s life was disconcerting to him. 

Now Neil directly addressed Riff -What was your role in all this? – 

-I- his fingers were instinctually twitching towards his wrist, something Cain of course noticed, his thump softly stoking the faded scars, 

-Riff saved me- Cain sounded possessive, Riff wondered, just what did Cain´s uncle think his relationship to the boy was, with how close him and Cain acted, it would be easy to get it wrong -He …dressed my wounds, he spent time with me, it was him who told me about the poison, who got rid of the corpse and who raised me ever since. I will not tolerate you questioning his motives-. 

That small outburst caused Riff to smile sadly, if only it hadn´t been necessary -Your uncle is merely worried for you- he tried to calm Cain -and sir, my only motive was helping a child in need nothing more and nothing less. – He tried to calm down the situation, as this was as good an opening as he would get, he quickly changed the topic.

-Speaking of children in need. Let us address the cause of our visit- Cain straightened in his chair -yesterday we were contacted by an orphan girl who claimed to be Alexis Hargreaves daughter- 

Neil snorted – She wants to stay with her father? – a dark chuckle -You want to take her in, I take it, yet can´t with Alexis corpse in your hopefully metaphorical basement. Oh- He seemed to recall something that had previously eluded him – I do remember where I heart your name, Mr. Raffit. Alexis mentioned it, saying you came to work for him straight from an institution for the mentally ill. It seems you are unfit to raise any child, be it that girl or my nephew here. –

Riff tensed and so did Cain next to him, letting go of Riff´s hand the boy looked directly at his uncle, eyes glinting dangerously -Riff is the best person I know! – 

\- Is he now? – Neil leaned back into his chair, challenging, - As I recall he was unfit to take care of himself not six years ago, do you want me to believe he turned into a responsible adult over night? – 

-Yes- Cain spit at his uncle, Riff felt his anxiety rising, there was only one direction this conversation could possibly take. 

The words came, just as Riff had dreaded -Cain, if you want to live with your sister, that could be arranged, but I have no proof that your Riff is capable of providing for you, nor do I have any reason to trust him, and no, your word on this will not suffice, I will not allow you to continue living with this man. 

\- Cain was not deterred -well, I´m sorry to tell you, uncle, but I will not live without him- Riff decided to leave this debacle for the two Hargreaves to sort out themselves. 

They left not five minutes later, Cain storming out pulling Riff along by the wrist. That evening Neil called to say, that while his stance on the Riff situation had not changed, he would be willing to meet Merry-Weather and they´d see from there. With a short call to her foster parents they arranged to take her to park the following day, supervised only, of course. 

 

It was a cold and rainy day, but Merry-Weather was a ray of sunshine, she bounded through the fallen leaves, playing with her foster mother and picking up beautiful leaves and chestnuts, when she found them. Riff was watching her from one of the pathways, while listening to her relatives talking among themselves. 

-Look, uncle- Cain said, he had seemingly recovered from yesterday´s fight – Isn´t she adorable? Can´t you just let her live with me? – 

-Do I understand you correctly? – His uncle began -You want me to officially adopt her, but want her living with you and that man? – He still hadn´t asked just what Riff and Cain were to each other, perhaps he was afraid of the answer, wrongly, but Riff was grateful nonetheless. 

-Yes- Cain confirmed. 

He sighed, defeated. -Where are you planning to live? – 

-We could move into a larger apartment, you could visit from time to time- Cain glanced in Riffs direction, they had discussed the necessity of moving last night, their current flat simply wasn´t big enough for three. Unless two of them shared a room, Riff secretly thought. 

-Okay, nephew, listen, - Neil took a deep breath -this is how we are going to do this and I am not willing to compromise: I will adopt your sister for you, and you can live with her, but you will do it in your old townhouse. It´s empty isn´t it? If there is nothing I can do to convince you otherwise, that man may come along, but only under the condition, that I move in myself to keep an eye on you. Do you agree, boy? – 

Cain agreed, reluctantly but agree he did. He was probably glad, that uncle Neil refrained from trying to separate him and Riff, even if his uncle would be around as a babysitter.

Merry moved in barely one month later.


End file.
